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Battle for Sunningrocks (ITW)
|side1=ThunderClan |side2=RiverClan |leaders1=Redtail |leaders2=Oakheart |forces1=*Redtail *Mousefur *Tigerclaw *Ravenpaw |forces2=*Oakheart *Stonefur *Unnamed RiverClan tom *Multiple RiverClan warriors |casual1=Redtail |casual2=Oakheart }} The battle for Sunningrocks was a deadly skirmish involving RiverClan and ThunderClan patrols, neither willing to give up the rocks. While RiverClan initially won the territory by catching an unaware ThunderClan patrol, the latter cats came back to reclaim the rocks, which resulted in the deaths of both Clan deputies, Redtail and Oakheart. Summary Premise :At one point in time, Sunningrocks was an island in the river, which acted as the border between ThunderClan and RiverClan. However, the river changed course, which resulted in Sunningrocks becoming separated from the river and outside RiverClan's borders. ThunderClan claimed them as their own, which RiverClan rebuked and has since escalated into years of warfare. :Neither ThunderClan nor RiverClan is able to claim Sunningrocks for very long, resulting in many losses and victories for the respective clans. At the start of Oakheart's patrol to reclaim the rocks, ThunderClan has control, which Oakheart, and consecutively Crookedstar and the rest of RiverClan, seek to end. Overview :The battle for Sunningrocks was a conflict between RiverClan and ThunderClan patrols, neither willing to give up the rocks. While RiverClan initially won the territory by catching an unaware ThunderClan patrol, the latter cats came back to reclaim the rocks, which resulted in the deaths of both Clan deputies, Redtail and Oakheart. Description RiverClan wins :When a small patrol of ThunderClan cats inspects Sunningrocks, a larger RiverClan patrol ambushes them, and while ThunderClan is briefly able to hold them off, Redtail calls for a retreat, not wanting to risk any casualties. This greatly angers Tigerclaw, who wishes to keep fighting. Redtail eventually forces Tigerclaw to retreat, giving RiverClan the victory. ThunderClan retaliates :A few days later, Redtail leads a second patrol to reclaim the rocks, consisting of a few ThunderClan cats, Tigerclaw, and his apprentice, Ravenpaw. They catch the RiverClan cats off guard, and seeing their chance to take back the territory, they attack, with the most notable fight being Redtail battling Stonefur. However, this is short lived as Oakheart comes in to defend the young warrior, and claims that Redtail will not harm the warrior. This initially confuses Redtail, but spits an insult at the RiverClan deputy, which results in the two deputies attacking one another. They make their way to Sunningrocks, where Oakheart collides into the rocks, resulting in a rockfall which kills the RiverClan deputy, but leaves Redtail mostly unscathed, and allowing ThunderClan to retake Sunningrocks. Tigerclaw's betrayal :As Redtail recovers from the fight with Oakheart, Tigerclaw orders Ravenpaw back to ThunderClan while he stays behind to help the deputy. Ravenpaw, however, turns back, and when he does, he sees Tigerclaw turn on Redtail, overpowering the surprised deputy and tearing out his throat. Horrified, Ravenpaw runs back to ThunderClan's camp, but is too shaken by Tigerclaw's treachery to admit anything. The truth revealed :Redtail's death is met with grief from all of ThunderClan, especially from Bluestar and Dustpaw, Redtail's apprentice. Bluestar appoints Lionheart to succeed Redtail. Dustpaw is given Darkstripe as his replacement mentor. Tigerclaw lies, reporting that Oakheart killed Redtail, and he killed Oakheart in revenge. :Tigerclaw, realizing his apprentice witnessed his actions, begins spreading rumors of the young apprentice being a ShadowClan spy, but Ravenpaw admits to Graypaw and Firepaw that he saw Tigerclaw kill Redtail in hopes of getting the promotion to deputy, but instead Lionheart, Graypaw's mentor, gets the position. Firepaw and Graypaw try and investigate, but Tigerclaw and his followers, Darkstripe, Longtail and Dustpaw, bully them, particularly Firepaw due to his kittypet heritage. Lionheart is killed in a battle with ShadowClan, and Tigerclaw achieves his ambition of becoming ThunderClan's deputy in turn. Characters Redtail :ThunderClan's deputy under Bluestar, Redtail led the first defense when RiverClan sought to reclaim Sunningrocks. However, once he realizes that RiverClan's patrol outnumbers them, he orders ThunderClan to retreat, despite this decision being met with anger from Tigerclaw, who wishes to keep fighting. Redtail orders for Tigerclaw to retreat, which in turn allows RiverClan to subsequently win Sunningrocks. Redtail leads a second patrol to reclaim them, and attacks the young warrior Stonefur, before being attacked by Oakheart, who, unbeknowst to him, is Stonefur's father. Redtail and Oakheart fight their way to Sunningrocks, where a rockfall kills Oakheart and leaves Redtail mostly unscathed. However, when he leaves the area, he is caught by Tigerclaw, who proceeds to take the opportunity to kill the ThunderClan deputy, while his own apprentice, Ravenpaw, watches in horror. Oakheart :RiverClan's deputy, and the brother of RiverClan's leader, Crookedstar, and secretly, the forbidden mate of Bluestar and the father of Mistyfoot and Stonefur. He led this attack to reclaim Sunningrocks, and won. When Redtail came back with a second patrol to reclaim their territory, Oakheart defends Stonefur from Redtail, knowing the young tom is his son. Redtail however, unaware, is confused, but attacks the deputy, and the two second-in-commands fight their way to the rocks, where their movement causes a rockfall, resulting in the death of Oakheart while Redtail manages to escape. Tigerclaw :Ambitious and hungry for battle, Tigerclaw held a bitter resentment against Redtail for being made deputy and for his cautious, peace-loving ways. During the battle for Sunningrocks, Tigerclaw seizes his chance to get rid of Redtail and murders him in cold blood. This decision put Tigerclaw on a dark path that nearly led to the destruction of all the Clans. Ravenpaw :A timid young apprentice of ThunderClan, he was given Tigerclaw as a mentor in hopes of helping his nervous nature, but this in fact rather terrified him. He took part in Redtail's patrol to go and reclaim Sunningrocks, and when Redtail escaped from the rockfall that killed Oakheart, Tigerclaw orders him to go back to camp. Ravenpaw obliges, but turns back as he wanted to know if Redtail was okay. He witnesses Tigerclaw subdue Redtail and kill him, traumatizing the apprentice and he is unable to admit to anything out of fear of Tigerclaw. While initially describing the battle as Redtail being killed by Oakheart, he slips that Redtail was in fact the one to kill Oakheart, which puts Firepaw on the path to find out what actually happened. Ravenpaw plays a key part in this, as he was the sole witness of Redtail's murder and helps Fireheart find out the truth, and is moved to live with Barley when Tigerclaw realizes his apprentice knows of his murder, where Ravenpaw happily lives and dies peacefully. Aftermath :Fireheart goes undercover to discover the truth of Redtail's death, going so far as to ask Mistyfoot, Graypool, and Ravenpaw for confirmation. Graypool confirms Oakheart's body was crushed by a rockfall, and with Ravenpaw reaffirms his story of Tigerclaw murdering Redtail. :Tigerclaw eventually conspires with Brokentail, the blinded, former ShadowClan leader to kill Bluestar and become ThunderClan's leader, but this foiled by Fireheart, and Tigerclaw is exiled for his actions, and is resented by Dustpelt, Longtail and Darkstripe for treason and murder. :ThunderClan holds onto Sunningrocks for many moons, until Leopardstar demands that they give it back as debt for sheltering ThunderClan during a fire. Bluestar denies, and a second battle takes place, which results in the indirect revelation of Bluestar mothering Mistyfoot and Stonefur, and when ThunderClan reinforcements arrive, RiverClan retreats. Legacy :For moons, ThunderClan believed that Tigerclaw avenged Redtail, such as Cinderpaw telling Fireheart that Sunningrocks was the place where Redtail was killed by Oakheart. Fireheart knows Ravenpaw's side of the story, but agrees with Cinderpaw's claim. When the truth was revealed, Tigerclaw was resented by all of ThunderClan and exiled, and his kits, Bramblekit and Tawnykit were the victims of many assumptions that they would turn out just like their father. :Redtail's death started Tigerclaw's lust for power, and an investigation that eventually nearly led to Tigerclaw taking up ThunderClan's leadership. The revelation that Tigerclaw killed Redtail, and tried to kill her, causes Bluestar to descend into madness, not willing to trust any cat save for Whitestorm. Quotes See also *''Into the Wild'' *Into the Wild/Cliffnotes *''Forest of Secrets'' *Forest of Secrets/Cliffnotes Notes and references Category:Battles Category:Events